And They Say Romance Is Dead
by smkskittles
Summary: Dotty's opinions of the men who have dated Amanda.


TITLE: And They Say Romance Is Dead  
  
AUTHOR: Skittles  
  
RATING: G  
  
SUMMARY: Dotty's opinions of the men who have dated Amanda.  
  
TIMELINE: During "Do You Take This Spy?"  
  
ARCHIVE: fantiction.net, anywhere else please ask.  
  
FEEDBACK: YES! Any and all (with the exception of flames) welcome! I'd love to know what you think of my stories.  
  
DISCLAIMER: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is owned by Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions, but the original portions of this story are copyrighted to the author. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only.  
  
THANKS: Thanks to Daphne for her beta job. A huge thanks to Miriam for suggesting that I write this story and for her beta job.  
  
*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*SMK*  
  
Heaven knows I love my daughter and would never say anything to hurt her, but when it comes to romance, Amanda seems to hop from one disastrous relationship to the next.  
  
Joe King was the first great love of my daughter's life. I remember the day she brought him home to meet Carl and me. He was a nervous wreck. Carl, not Joe. Joe was perfectly calm. I liked him immediately. Carl was a little harder to convince. He was of the opinion that no man would ever be good enough for his Panda.  
  
Well, it was clear that Amanda was smitten with Joe-- and Joe was smitten with Amanda, I might add. So, the next logical step was marriage. Joe, being a logical man, married my daughter. I finally had a son and, later on, grandchildren.  
  
Joe was a good man, but not a good family man. He was dedicated, respectable, and very dependable. Yes, you could always depend on Joe to be at work, and only come home when it was convenient for him and not because he was needed.  
  
After the divorce Amanda began to see Dean. . . Dean. . . What was his last name? Well, Dean was reliable, patient, and a good breadwinner. He loved Amanda and adored the boys. He wanted to marry my daughter. I wanted him to marry my daughter. Everyone wanted him to marry my daughter except for one person: my daughter. She said it was too soon after her divorce. I think it was because Dean was reliable, which Joe wasn't.  
  
Amanda had wanted someone reliable who would be around for the boys. But, after she got it, she didn't want it. I think she wanted some excitement: something passionate and brief.  
  
Shortly after Dean had faded from the picture, Amanda began seeing David Benson. That man was fancy. Almost too fancy. Fancy car, fancy parties, fancy food, fancy dress. . . But, he was also divorced and I suppose that gave him and Amanda something in common. I guess Amanda must have lost interest in him. Though, how a woman loses interest in a man like that, I'll never know.  
  
The next man Amanda brought home was Alan Squires. Oh! What a man! He was a real charmer, and so cute! He had such impeccable manners, and knew all the Big Band artists. The only reason Amanda knew who they were was because she'd teethed on their records.  
  
Anyway, Alan always called if he was going to be late. And it's always better to be late than early for a date. I mean, if he was early, he could've found Amanda still in curlers, and it was far too soon in the relationship for that. He had no qualms over meeting Amanda's family so early in their relationship.  
  
So, I ask you. What on earth could possess such a nice man to give my daughter a concubine ring? The worst part was that Amanda actually wore the thing. She swore up and down that it was only a friendship ring, but facts are facts: my daughter paraded around town wearing a concubine ring! Needless to say, I was relieved when Amanda quit seeing the man and that ring disappeared.  
  
Amanda met Brice Topping at a PTA meeting. He seemed pretty taken with her. Plus, he was a gorgeous attorney. But, for some reason, things just never took off between them. Maybe it was because of the shooting in the café where they first went for coffee. Gunplay can wreak havoc with romance. And sometimes there is just no recapturing romance after a really bad date.  
  
When Amanda temporarily quit working for the film company and began working for a security company, her new boss invited her to dinner. Oh, what a disaster that turned out to be! The poor man was killed -can you imagine! - that night, right after Amanda left! And my poor daughter was charged with the murder! It was a mess! Truly the pinnacle of Amanda's knack for attracting trouble.  
  
After that fiasco Amanda hit the brakes on her dating life for awhile. Not that I blame her. I mean, a woman can only take so much when it comes to disastrous romances. Though I have a hunch she really quit dating because she had her eye on some unpredictable film character at that crazy company she worked for.  
  
Then, one evening, Amanda came downstairs all dressed up for what she claimed was a business dinner. Business dinner, my foot, I thought when a florist delivered a corsage and a "thank you for coffee" note. Mr. Alan Chamberlain has a very nice business card, if you ask me.  
  
That night, I tried to stay up until Amanda came home from her date. I didn't make it, and nodded off on the couch. Fortunately, Amanda woke me up when she came home. If she hadn't, well, I'd probably still have a kink in my back.  
  
Amanda was all smiles, and when I asked if she was planning on seeing him again, she told me that he'd invited her to breakfast. A very good sign, a very good sign indeed.  
  
Amanda was all absent-minded and jittery the next morning as she was preparing the boys' breakfasts. She carefully put their cereal in the refrigerator and tried to serve them a gallon of milk. Then Alan called, and the way her face fell as he cancelled their breakfast date, well, it would break any mother's heart.  
  
And then, and then, and then. . . Amanda finally hit the jackpot. The handsome, blonde, six foot-two inch jackpot. On a scale of 1 to 10, Lee Stetson is an eleven, with good posture and a strong profile.  
  
Only, Amanda wouldn't date him. She'd go on business trips and dinners with him, but never anything more. I was afraid that after all of her, ah, shall we say, doomed relationships, she had given up. But Lee is a charming man, who can win anyone over. He's got such a dashing smile. . .  
  
Where was I? Ah, yes, Lee finally took Amanda out on a real date. And, much to my surprise, the flowers he brought with him that evening were for me. I'd never heard of such a thing. The girls in the bridge group were jealous when I told them about it later.  
  
Now, as pleased as I am that my daughter has found a wonderful man, I'm irritated. Those two are absolutely perfect for each other. Phillip adores Lee and Jamie is warming up to him. And still there hasn't been a single hint as to their getting married, let alone engaged.  
  
I know Lee has got a bit of a past. A few months ago he had federal agents looking for him! I wonder if that's what's stopping Amanda. Or maybe it's Lee who is dragging his feet. Whatever the case, I believe that Lee is the stud my daughter was, ah, eyeing at work these past couple of years. And I'm grateful that she had the good sense to finally grab him.  
  
Maybe I just need to be less subtle in encouraging their engagement. A good shove in the right direction could be just what they need. Maybe I'll show them my old wedding photos before they go away for the weekend. You know, just to put the idea into their head.  
  
THE END 


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